Memories of Her
by ZooperDooper
Summary: Rukia died protecting her daughter from a Menos Grande. Years later, Kasumi wants to learn everything there is about her mother. But can Toushiro tell her what she wants to know without drowning in the memories of his beloved wife? HitsuRuki.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to my newest Fanfiction story. Before we get into I would like to point out that I am not perfect, and there might be a few mistakes in here, since I don't have a beta, I proof read all of my stories but I might miss a few things here and there. So, sorry if I do.**

**Okay! Please read and review, but most of all, ENJOY!**

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Hitsugaya Kasumi was beautiful.

In every sense of the word. She was a mixture of both her mother and father. Her hair was a snow white, and eyes a deep purple. She was short, like both her parents, and dainty like her mother. She was mature, like her father and had an unusual obsession with chappy, like her mother.

There have only been a handful of pregnancies amongst Shinigami in the past, and only three of those babies actually survived, Kasumi was one of the three. Even so, a captain and a lieutenant having a child together was completely unheard of.

Nobody said a word about it though, for fear of getting frozen to the ground by Captain Hitsugaya's Hyourinmaru and Lieutenant Hitsugaya's Sode no Shirayuki. Everyone in Soul Society was apprehensive about this child, but excited at the same.

And when Hitsugaya Kasumi was born, every fear, every doubt and every worry just flew out the window as soon as they caught a look at her wide innocent face. And all was well, for now.

First the parents celebrated privately. Both taking time off from work to care for the child, Toushiro was rather cautious about leaving Matsumoto to look after the division but after some needed persuasion from—surprisingly—Kurosaki Ichigo, he grudgingly let her take charge for the time being.

Kasumi was, no exaggeration, a terror child. Cried constantly, hungry all the time, and when she's constantly eating, the diaper change was a nightmare. Long story short, Rukia had to be in charge of diaper duty. Bute even through all that, the little family couldn't have been happier.

Until one night, July 26, when Kasumi was only two years old, Hitsugaya Rukia was killed. She died trying to protect Kasumi from a Menos Grande but was unable to defend herself. Toushiro came too late to save his wife, but Kasumi lived.

Ask anyone, they would say that it was the darkest day they have ever witnessed. Captain Abarai Renji of the ninth squad locked himself up in his private quarters and didn't resurface until a month after her death. Captain Kurosaki Ichigo of the fifth squad buried himself in his work and didn't talk to anybody but his lieutenant, Hinamori Momo.

Captain Kuchiki Byakuya of the sixth squad seemed the same, but to anyone even slightly observant he was very different. His dry humour—if it could be called humour—died along with his sister, his eyes lost their glow, and they became dull and lifeless. He was a walking zombie.

But no one came close to the amount of grieving that Toushiro was doing. Two weeks after her death, Matsumoto visited to see if he was okay, since no one had seen him since she died. Matsumoto only mentioned her name once and that sent Toushiro into a flying rage. He screamed and yelled, destroyed every piece of furniture, crashed down a wall, and broke down sobbing on the couch, cursing his lieutenant. Matsumoto didn't speak, only cradled her captain while he cried on her shoulder. That was the first time she ever saw anything akin to sadness on his face, and she let slip a few sobs and tears as well.

But eventually the world started turning again. Nobody was the same but they tried, for Toushiro and Kasumi's sake.

When Kasumi was seven, she asked Toushiro about her mother. He didn't say anything; he just barred himself up in his room for the rest of the night. When she was nine she asked again, but he only said, "She died a long time ago, Sumi. But she loved you more than anything." She noticed how much she was hurting her father, so she never asked him again.

Instead, she asked her uncle Byakuya. His response was, "She was a noble and prideful woman, and she loved you very much."

Unsatisfied, she asked her uncle Ichi. He chuckled and said, "She was a brat, that Rukia. Had a nasty habit of kicking me in the face. And she loved you a lot."

Eventually she asked her uncle Renji. He smiled slightly and said, "Give your father time. Eventually he'll tell you everything you want to know."

Now Kasumi is 13, and she is determined to find out about her mother. She was currently sprawled out on the couch, waiting for her father to get home from the office. Ever since she was born he never spent so much time there, before Rukia was pregnant he stayed at the office until 10pm at night, but now he arrives home at 5 o'clock every night.

Kasumi heard door slide open and she sprang up instantly, nervousness seeping out of her every pore. No doubt her father could sense it because he gave her a suspicious look when he walked in.

"Should I be worried?" Was his greeting. Kasumi scowled.

"My day was fine, thanks for asking." She grumbled and walked towards the kitchen, suddenly hungry. A finger snagged her sleeve and she was enveloped in a warm embrace.

"Sorry." He chuckled and kissed her head. She sighed and hugged him back. He pulled away first and went straight for the fridge.

"You forgot to have lunch again, didn't you?" She growled.

"Matsumoto decided to go out drinking with Kyoraku-taichou, so I was dumped with the paperwork _again._" He sighed, suddenly looking old. While Toushiro was roughly about a hundred years old, he only looked to be in his early twenties, maybe even late teens. Kasumi chuckled and sat down at the table, her momentary hunger forgotten. Toushiro sat down across from his daughter and started nibbling on an apple, a little put out that there was nothing else to eat.

"Dad…" Kasumi started uncertainly. Toushiro's eyes flashed with alarm.

"What's wrong?" He demanded. Kasumi rolled her eyes, he was such a worrier.

"Nothing life threatening so calm down." Toushiro relaxed slightly, but only slightly.

"Um…" She started off again, unsure of how to go on. Toushiro's left eye twitched, irritation evident on his features.

"Go on then, spit it out before we both get old." Kasumi scowled again.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about my mother." She said in a rush. Toushiro's eyes widened comically and if it was any other situation Kasumi would've laughed. After a few seconds Toushiro sighed.

"I should've known you would ask me that." He said quietly. Kasumi bit her lip.

"I just want to know about my mother. Everyone tells me that she loved me and also to wait until you're ready, but I just can't stand not knowing any longer!" She burst out. Toushiro watched her silently, his eyes betraying his uncertainty.

"Alright." He sighed eventually.

"But-but-dad! Wait…what?"

"I will tell you about your mother. You deserve to know anyway." He said and stood up. Kasumi followed him to his room, a room she was all too familiar with.

Toushiro opened his closet and started rummaging through it, pushing aside clothes and boxes of paperwork, until he pulled out a book and blew the dust off it. The book was leather bound, and had intricate patterns that covered the entire front. Toushiro looked at it and made an expression that looked like a crossover between a smile and a grimace. He sat on his bed and patted the spot next to him; Kasumi was all too willing to cuddle up next to him.

"A few years before you were born, Matsumoto came back from a mission in the world of the living with this. She said that we needed to capture all the little moments in our life so that we could cherish them forever, Rukia was all too willing to agree." He smiled slightly, already lost in the memories of the past.

And with that he flipped open the cover and onto the first page.

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**I was tearing up just writing this, maybe because I know what's to come in next chapters.**

**And Toushiro might seem a little OOC but just remember that he isn't going to treat his daughter like he does anybody else, otherwise he'd be the most grumpy, hot-headed father ever.**

**Please, please review! I'm honestly a little sensitive about this story because inspiration for it now is HUUUGE!**

**Before I let you go there are two things I need to clear up.**

**This is a HitsuRuki fic, obviously. **

**This is NOT a Kasumi X OC. In fact the only romance in this will probably only be between Toushiro and Rukia.**

**If you want there to be other couples, then let me know who. If I want to then I'll add it in. But no promises.**

**Okay, until next time,**

**ZooperDooper**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I'd like to thank Nathalie Shiffer, Dirtyspots-Chan, MiserableLoveFairy, Xaila'n'Eli, Denidene and hahaha for being my first reviewers! You guys are awesome!**

**Next chapter like promised, and it isn't as sad as the last one, hopefully.**

**Please review and ENJOY!**

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Their meeting was in no way romantic.

A casual nod while passing each other in the hallways. Their relationship was merely one between Captain and subordinate and mutual respect from one ice wielder to another, nothing more. No one, not even the couple themselves, knew how they fell, or even why the fell for each other. It was something that wasn't supposed to happen.

Toushiro had an entire division to worry about; he had to maintain his serious and hardworking reputation. It was hard being the youngest captain ever. Everyone expected him to be childish, cute and smiles due to his look. Captain Ukitake was a prime example. Even if Toushiro did enjoy his company, when he wasn't shoving candy into his hands, but there was that lurking gleam in his eyes. The feeling you get around a child and their innocence makes you want to shelter them from the outside world. Toushiro didn't have time for romance, for love. He just wanted to make everyone see that he wasn't a child.

Rukia was supposed to fall for Ichigo. Before Rukia had anything to do with Toushiro, she spent most of her time with Ichigo and Renji. And because of that, really nasty rumours spread through Seireitei and pretty soon both men and woman alike started to look at her differently. She wasn't oblivious to this, but she held her head high and acted as if it didn't affect her at all. But of course it did, deep inside it hurt to know what people thought of her. They didn't see her as a comrade, or a brave Shinigami, they only saw her as a slut. Kuchiki Rukia, the girl who hadn't even been kissed yet.

It all started one night.

Toushiro was walking back to his private quarters after a particularly treacherous amount of paperwork. He was so incredibly tired, and just couldn't muster the energy to shunpo back home. He was halfway home when he was hit with a pained reiatsu, a reiatsu that was similar to his own. Without thinking, he walked towards the 13th division training ground.

That's where he found her, sitting on the roof with her knees tucked under her chin. She had a distant look on her face, but he could detect a hint of sadness in her brow. He was never one to leave someone sad and depressed, especially if there was something he could do about it.

Sighing, he jumped on the roof and landed gracefully next to her, she didn't even notice. He saw the slight trembling of her frame; he couldn't tell if it was because of the icy night air, or because she was holding back sobs.

"Kuchiki." He announced himself. He allowed a hint of amusement at the violent jump and gasp that greeted him. She scrambled to feet and bowed.

"H-Hitsugaya taichou!" She stammered, shocked at his sudden arrival. He nodded and sat down, tilting his head back to gaze at the crescent moon. After a moment, Rukia hesitantly sat down beside him, mindful of his personal space.

Toushiro could guess what she was upset about. The rumours that were spreading throughout Seireitei were steadily getting worse, especially since Kurosaki was nominated to be captain of squad 5. He could tell it was affecting her badly.

"Define jealousy, Kuchiki." Toushiro demanded. Rukia looked startled and confused; obviously she hadn't expected him to talk.

"What?"

"What is the definition of jealously? Explain it to me."

Rukia was looking at him like he had lost his mind, which he probably had after the battle with Aizen.

"Um, I suppose jealously is an emotion that makes someone feel envy about someone else's achievements…?" She said it like a question. He nodded.

"When people are jealous they tend to make the object of their jealously, let's say for instance, you. It depends on what kind of person they are, but they tend to make your life a living hell. Why? Because they want what you have. They want your relationships with Kurosaki and Abarai, they want what you have achieved, but most of all they want to be you. Whoever started those rumours, Kuchiki, is jealous of you." He stated, like he was talking about the colour of the sky.

"People are…jealous…of me?" Rukia muttered. Toushiro nodded.

"Its basic human nature to be jealous, that's what strives us to meet our goals and to work harder. But sometimes jealously can make people do horrible things and completely ruin someone's life. The person who started those rumours about you is merely a child who wants what you have. If you want my advice, flaunt what you have. Your good working relationship with Kurosaki and Abarai, your nobility and pride, your achievements as a Shinigami, your power, flaunt everything."

"But—people will think—" She started protesting.

"It doesn't matter what people think!" He cut her off sharply. "What matters is how you think, that's the whole point. I barely know you and yet I know you are a strong woman who can brush of any stupid lie because _you_ know it isn't true. So tell me Kuchiki, are you going to be that woman?"

Toushiro sighed and stood up glancing down at the strangely silent girl beside him.

"Think about what I said." And with that he shunpoed away, leaving Rukia behind with a slightly calmer but still chaotic mind.

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**Done and done.**

**I forgot to tell you this last chapter but this whole story is going to be little one shots about Toushiro and Rukia's life together. It might not necessarily be in order, one chapter they might be having their first date and the next Rukia is giving birth, so yeah, be prepared.**

**Please, please review my darlings. And the next chapter shall come out very soon.**

**Until next time,**

**ZooperDooper.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again.**

**So I've been thinking, how would you guys feel to having me add an Ichigo pairing in the story? It's just something that has been circling in my head for a while now. If I did add it in it would only be a very minor part in the story. Anyway please have a think about it and if you do want me to add it in leave a review telling me who Ichigo should be with. Sorry, but no Orihime. She annoys me to no end and I can't stand writing about her, sorry Orihime lovers. Anywho!**

**Onto the story!**

**Enjoy **

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He remembers the day perfectly well.

He remembers how the smell of sakura petals wafted through the air. How the sun shone down upon his face and filled him with warmth.

He remembers the way that her purple eyes shone with delight as she stared up at the blue sky with almost childlike wonder. Her delicate lips were curved upward in a serene smile. Her fingers were just inches away from his own, and he remembers fighting the urge to tangle them together.

They were both lying on their backs in a small meadow staring at the sky on a warm spring day. They talked quietly about trivial matters and he found himself enjoying her company more than he felt he should.

Eventually they fell into comfortable silence and just stared at the sky. He turned his head to glance at Rukia, but he found himself entranced and unable to turn away.

He felt something in that moment, a warm, light feeling in his chest. It wasn't a foreign feeling, he felt it on occasion for Hinamori, but this time it was different than simple adoration. It was stronger somehow. Staring at Rukia he felt like he was the luckiest person on earth, because she was spending her precious time with him, in this meadow together. He didn't know what this feeling was, but he found himself almost…enjoying it. And it scared him more than he was willing to admit.

She turned then and caught his gaze. He didn't turn away, he wanted to but he just couldn't. She didn't turn away either, but he saw the slight reddening of her cheeks. Her fingers twitched and just barely grazed against his.

It was almost as if his body had a mind of its own, but he found himself shifting closer to her. He wasn't overly fond of heat, he was the embodiment of ice after all, but he was enjoying the heat that was radiating of Rukia's body more than any amount ice could give him.

His right arm came up and curled across the girl's waist, bringing her closer. Rukia shifted closer until their chests were almost touching. Hesitantly he brought his face closer, he heard Rukia's breath intake and his lips curved upwards just slightly, then he brushed them against hers for the first time.

Innocent, sweet but filled with unspoken emotion. The way any first kiss should be.

And it was that exact moment that Toushiro realized he had fallen in love with Rukia.

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"Awww!" Kasumi crooned when her father had finished his tale. He scowled slightly and his cheeks reddened.

"You were so cute!" She giggled. He was definitely scowling now.

"Don't call me cute." He grumbled. Kasumi laughed and pinched his cheeks.

"I can't help it! I'm surprised that it was just mum who fell in love with you. I would've expected you to have a fangirl club like uncle Byakuya or uncle Ichi." She mused.

"What makes you think he doesn't?" A new voice said from the doorway of his bedroom.

Matsumoto walked into the room with a fox like grin. Toushiro stiffened and sent her a warning glare.

"Hi Ran!" Kasumi chirped. Matsumoto ruffled her hair.

"Did you know that your father has had run-ins with a bunch of crazy fangirls? It's true! They kidnapped him and everything!" Matsumoto laughed. Kasumi's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Matsumoto, how did you get into my house?" Toushiro asked, hoping to change the subject.

"You really need to lock your door, taicho." She tsked. He rolled his eyes. He wasn't surprised; sadly this wasn't the first time she had broken into his house.

"What do you need? I thought you went drinking with Kyouraku-taicho." He asked. Matsumoto shrugged.

"He got boring, so I decided to come visit you instead; I haven't seen Sumi in ages." She collapsed on the bed behind the father and daughter. Kasumi giggled.

"Matsumoto it's 9:30 at night, I think you should go back to your own living quarters. Besides, Kasumi needs to go bed." He said, looking pointedly at his daughter.

"But daaaaad!" She whined. Toushiro smirked.

"You have to get up early tomorrow; Unohana-san hates it when you are late to your lessons, especially when you don't get up in time because you are too tired and lazy." Kasumi scowled.

"I'm 13 years old! This so isn't fair!" She growled, glaring at her father.

"When I was 13 I was already captain of the 10th squad, woke up at 5am every morning, mastered my shikai and bankai, trained new recruits and not to mention I had to deal with Matsumoto on a daily basis." He deadpanned.

"Hey!"

"Fine." Kasumi huffed and stalked out of the room and down the hall. When his daughter left the room his face fell.

"You were telling her about Rukia, weren't you?" Matsumoto asked softly. Toushiro just nodded. Matsumoto sat up and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You know you don't have to tell her alone, I'm sure the others are just dying to re-tell all their stories about Rukia."

"I know. I just feel like this is something I should do by myself." He said. Matsumoto frowned.

"Well that's stupid. Bring the book to the office tomorrow. I have plenty of stories to tell Sumi that even you don't know about." She grinned. Toushiro's eyes widened.

"What kind of stories?" He asked suspiciously. Matsumoto's grin widened.

"You'll see tomorrow." She chirped and danced out of the room.

"Matsumoto!" He yelled after her.

"See you tomorrow, taicho!"

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**Bam!**

**Done and done.**

**Okay, Ichigo, Renji and Byakuya are all coming in soon with all their stories to tell. Watch out Shiro! Some truly embarrassing and funny stories are coming up.**

**Please review.**

**Until next time,**

**ZooperDooper.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys!**

**How are all you lovely folks doing out there?**

**Now I know it is still early in the story and at the moment I don't have a huge amount of readers (I don't really care about that) but I have decided to set a challenge for you guys! The challenge is see if you can draw Kasumi for me. I have a good picture of what she looks like but inspiration would be HUGE if I could actually see with my own eyes a drawing of her.**

**You don't have to be talented, you could draw stick figure of her if you wanted to. But if you do and you let me know I will put the picture up on my profile with full credit to you and I will be FOREVER in your debt!**

**The drawing can be whatever you want, she could be a baby in Rukia's arms or the same age now in Toushiro's arms. She could be older or younger, in any setting you wanted. But Kasumi has to be in it!**

**So, uhh, GET DRAWING! **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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Kasumi was kicking a soccer ball around the 10th division training area. She had long ago finished her lesson with Captain Unohana so she decided to just hang around her dad's division until she came up with something better to do.

Normally she would be out visiting other divisions but today was graduation day at the Shinigami academy and all the captains and lieutenants were out scouting for potential talent. Kasumi had no friends her age. She was like a mix up of both her parents and her slight anti-social behaviour towards people her own age she unfortunately inherited from her father.

But she honestly didn't mind that much. She found pleasure in bugging her uncle Ichi, playing games with her uncle Renji and having lunch with her uncle Byakuya. The only person who she didn't see as family was probably Rangiku, who she saw as her best friend, much to her dad's displeasure. The duo love to prank him and annoy him whenever they could.

But there were still times when she longed for someone her own age. Someone who she could relate her own problems to, complain about family or gossip about cute boys, a friend who she can grow up with. But Kasumi wasn't the type of girl to dwell on things, and she was happy with her life. Even if it was missing one important person.

Her mother. Rukia. When she tells her dad or anyone else that she doesn't remember a thing about her mother, well she's not exactly being truthful.

Truth is, Kasumi remembers a pair of bright purple eyes gazing at her with all the love and adoration that only a mother could give. She remembers soft, warm fingers gently grazing against her cheek and a whispered voice calling out to her: _Sleep my little Sumi. _

That was a happy memory. At first she always thought it was a dream, some fantasy that her mind conjured up in order to fill the void in her heart. But then when she was about 8 years old she began to have nightmares, or rather, nightmare.

She dreamt of nothing but black. A black smoke hovering around her, choking her and filling her with a terrible sense of fear. And then she hears a voice, a desperate cry pierce the blackness swallowing her. At first she couldn't make out the words, but as the nightmare continued it became clearer and clearer until there was no denying it. It was her mother's voice.

"_Sumi! Always know that mummy loves you! Never forget that!"_

After that she would always wake up screaming and crying, calling out for her mother. It was never her mother that comforted her after those dreams, but rather her father. He would stroke her hair and gather her up in his arms. She would bury her face into his night shirt and he would carry her to his room. She would always fall asleep in his arms and she would dream of happier things. He always chased the nightmare away. Although she never told anyone, because it was embarrassing to admit, but her father was her knight in shining armour. He was her hero. She had no idea what she'd do without him. Yes, she was a daddy's girl.

She sighed and picked up the ball. She was contemplating going to the 5th division to see if Ichigo was there, after all he hated going to the graduation day. Kasumi sighed and started walking towards the fifth.

As she was walking she wondered when her dad would let her join the Shinigami academy. It was no secret that Kasumi wanted to be a Shinigami really badly. She constantly nagged her dad about when she was able to join. He always said when she had enough reiatsu.

_Enough reiatsu? I have enough already, I could—_

Kasumi's thoughts were cut short when she was flung up into the air and over someone's shoulders. She squealed and struggled against the mystery persons grip. She heard a deep chuckle and she scowled. Even without the number 9 haori she knew exactly who it was.

"RENJI!" She yelled and pounded on his back. Renji laughed and gripped her tighter.

"What's up, midget?" He greeted.

"Put me down now!" She demanded.

"You know, I don't think I will." He smirked. Kasumi growled.

"I could always tell my dad that you're harassing me. Have you ever had frostbite before?" Kasumi smirked.

"You're evil, kid." Renji said and put her down. She grinned at him.

"I know." She said proudly. He rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair causing Kasumi to scowl again.

"Not the hair." She growled. Renji laughed.

"I swear you have the worst mood swings, and you haven't even hit puberty yet!" He exclaimed. Kasumi blushed.

"I'll have you know that I have hit puberty." She muttered, embarrassed that she was talking about this to her uncle Renji. To her great amusement he blushed as well.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't want to talk about you hitting puberty. That's your father's job." He muttered, then smirked at the thought of captain Hitsugaya giving his daughter 'the talk'.

"Why aren't you at the graduation thing?" Kasumi asked, changing the subject. Renji shrugged.

"Didn't want to go." He brushed it off. She raised her eyebrows.

"Isn't it a taicho's responsibility to go to every graduation?" She asked.

"We don't have to go to every single one. I just sent my lieutenant out instead." He said.

"You sent Hisagi out? I'm sure he was real happy about that." She said sarcastically. Renji shrugged.

"He'll get over it."

Kasumi and Renji walked in silence for a few minutes until Kasumi asked.

"Can you tell me about my mother?"

Renji stopped walking. Kasumi bit her lip in nervousness. She thought that since Renji knew her mother the longest that he would have more stories to tell. But maybe she was wrong and he didn't want to talk about her.

"What brought this up?" He asked quietly.

"Dad was telling me stories about her last night. I just… want to hear some more about her." Renji's eyes widened.

"Hitsugaya was telling you about Rukia?" He asked shocked. Kasumi frowned and nodded. Renji grinned.

"Alright! I was waiting for him to tell you about her. It was an unspoken rule between me and Ichigo to wait until Hitsugaya told you about her first. It took 13 years but he finally did it! Ha! Oh the stories I could tell!" Renji grinned. Kasumi smiled.

"Did you know that Rukia once burnt down her dorm room at the Shinigami academy?" Renji asked.

"No."

"Good! Now it all started about a week into our first year…."

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**And say hello to Renji!**

**We are now moving onto the funnier, less romantic stories that Renji has to tell.**

**If you review you will find your very own Toushiro lying on your bed with a bottle of whip cream and baby oil.**

**Stay tuned!**

**Until next time,**

**ZooperDooper.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know you guys were hoping for a funny chapter with Renji. But I was in a melancholy mood and I just had to put you out of misery and write this. Just in advance I would like to apologize if you don't like this chapter. You'll find out why.**

**Oh! There is an awesome picture of Kasumi on my profile page! Drawn by the wonderful**_** The Dirtying Spots of Chan.**_** Check it out!**

**ATTENTION! **

**There is something very important I would like to announce and the bottom of the chapter, it involve this story's entire plot line and I need some feedback on it. **

**Enjoy. **

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"She's grown up so much. It seems like just yesterday that she was only weeks old." The old woman rasped as she watched the young white haired child chase a butterfly around the backyard. The black haired young woman smiled down at her two year old daughter.

"Time flies doesn't it?" Rukia mused as she took a sip from her tea. The old woman hummed in agreement and gazed adoringly at the little girl.

"It's a shame Toushiro couldn't be here. It feels like I haven't seen him in years." The old woman sighed.

"Toushiro's been extremely busy lately. What with new recruits and all, he doesn't get home until 12 at night, nowadays." Rukia sighed, turning her downtrodden gaze towards the clear blue sky. The two women settled into comfortable silence.

"Hey, granny?"

"Yes, my dear?"

Rukia hesitated slightly before asking, "How is Hinamori-chan doing?"

Ever since the war with Aizen, Hinamori has been living out her life back with her granny. Her ex-captains betrayal shook her so badly that she retired, claiming she wanted to have a peaceful life. She didn't visit any of her old friends; in fact she didn't even go near Seireitei anymore. Toushiro still tried to find the time to visit both his childhood friend and his granny but he had an entire division to run, so it wasn't often that he visited.

Rukia's timetable was a lot more flexible. She was only a part time lieutenant; she decided when she got pregnant that she was going to take care of Kasumi at home until she was five and then slowly ease her way back into her duties. But her captain was sickly so she decided to help out a bit more around the division when she could. She would always try to visit Hinamori and granny every three weeks.

At the moment Hinamori was down at the markets, grocery shopping.

"She's doing better. She's still having nightmares about the war but she seems to genuinely want to get better. But she misses her friends a lot; I sometimes catch her looking at the sky with a nostalgic look on her face. I really do hope that she figures out what she wants to do with the rest of her life; I don't like seeing her this way." Granny said. Rukia was about to console the old woman but was interrupted by her daughter.

"Mommy! Mommy, look!" Kasumi yelled and ran over, showing her mother a blue butterfly that she caught in her chubby hands.

"That's wonderful sweetie, are you going to keep him?" Rukia asked. Kasumi shook her head.

"No." She said simply and opened her hand, letting the butterfly fly away. Rukia beamed and kissed her forehead.

"That's my girl."

Rukia stayed at granny's house until twilight. Momo showed up just before Rukia and Kasumi left, she gave a small smile but retreated into the safety of her room without even glancing at the small toddler.

"Is there a reason why Hinamori-chan doesn't like me?" Rukia asked the old woman when they were out the front of the house. Granny frowned.

"She has always had a soft spot for young Shiro, I think at one point she might have even liked him more than just a friend. Toushiro has always been there for Momo, his whole world was centred on her, but since you came along his attention has shifted and his whole world now revolves around you and Sumi. I think she just needs time to grasp that as well. She'll come around."

Rukia nodded and bid farewell to the old woman.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

The night was still.

The stars were absent from the sky and Rukia felt a sinister chill travel down her spine. The walk from Rukongai to Seireitei was not a great one, but for some reason it felt like she had been walking for hours.

Kasumi was snuggled against her mother's chest, barely awake and seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Rukia held Kasumi firmly with one arm; the other was touching the hilt of Sode no Shirayuki warily.

There was a hollow nearby. Not just an ordinary hollow, but a Menos Grande. Rukia knew that she couldn't fight a Menos Grande with her daughter close by; she would need to shift all her attention to the beast if she had any hope of destroying it, worrying about Kasumi would make it impossible to fight and win against the hollow.

So Rukia shifted Kasumi in her arms and was about to shunpo away but a red beam directed toward her shot through the trees. She managed to shunpo out of the way just in time.

_Shit! I didn't realize it was this close! Shit! Shit! Shit! _Rukia fumed and shunpoed a safe distance away. She pulled her crying daughter away from her chest and placed her inside a hollow tree stump, out of sight.

"Kasumi, stay here. Do not leave here until I say it's safe, do you understand?" Rukia whispered fiercely. The scared girl nodded. Rukia managed a small smile and kissed her forehead, and then quicker than a flash, she disappeared.

Rukia didn't know how long the fight lasted, seconds, minutes, hours? She didn't even know who was winning. The Menos Grande was slow, but its attacks and hits were deadly. Rukia knew that if Kasumi wasn't here she would be able to defeat the hollow no problem. But every few seconds she found her attention diverted to the tree and worry claw at her insides.

Rukia managed to chip of a small chunk of the mask. The hollow roared in pain and fury, its attention distracted from the Shinigami. Rukia was about to deliver the final blow when she heard a cry from the tree.

Rukia turned in horror to see her daughter crawl out of the stump, clutching a bleeding hand from where she cut it on a rock. Everything happened in slow motion after that. The Menos Grande regained its focus and shot a powerful cero towards the child. Rukia shunpoed over to her daughter cradled her against her chest and barely managed to put up an ice shield.

Rukia knew that the shield wouldn't hold, but it gave her enough time to shield her daughter with something a lot stronger, her own body. The shield cracked and shattered, ice shards flew everywhere.

The cero hit.

A body fell.

A gargled command.

"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren."

A wave of ice.

A whispered goodbye.

"Sumi! Always know that mummy loves you! Never forget that!"

In her last moments, her heavily bleeding body draped over her daughter, Rukia thought of her husband. His teal eyes, white hair, gentle touches and whispered words of love. She allowed a small smile to come over her face. And she drifted away, forever.

By the time Toushiro arrived it was too late. The Menos Grande was dead.

And so was Rukia.

* * *

**I needed tissues to write this. I hate killing off people! Especially characters I love!**

**So anyway, I've been wondering about where this story is headed. At first when I started it, it was just a series of one shots revolving around Kasumi and her quest to find out about her mother. But I have been reading a lot of reincarnation fics lately and it's really given me the urge to write one.**

**So here is my proposal:**

**Do you want this to turn into a Rukia reincarnation fic? Nothing extremely major, I haven't figured out exactly how I would do it but it would involve Hitsugaya and Rukia finding each other again, Kasumi being reunited with her mother, and plotline twists and turns.**

**Please leave a review and tell me honestly if you want to turn this into a reincarnation fic, or to leave it as is and Rukia remains dead. **

**If the majority of votes say yes, then I will write it but I probably won't jump straight into it. I will have a few one shots dedicated to Byakuya, Ichigo, Renji and everyone else first.**

**Please leave a review and tell me yes or no.**

**Until next time,**

**ZooperDooper.**


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